The aim of this research is to determine the forerunners of pre-school task orientation. Adequate task orientation is seen as a critical component of learning and school achievement and thus, more generally, of optimal development. While pre-school task orientation is the dependent variable of greatest interest, infant variables potentially related to task orientation like goal directedness, attention, and the quality of the relationship to caretakers at 6, 12, and 24 months, will serve as intermediate dependent variables. An extensive methodology has been developed, and a pilot study of 46 families has led to hypotheses as to the most significant antecedents of the above dependent variables. Study of 100 additional families will either support or not support the power of the following factors in predicting variations in task orientation and the quality of the child's relationship to the primary caretaker: (1) The pre-birth parent characteristics of adaptation competence, style of affect expression, clarity of visualizing self as parent, parental I.Q., and the nature of the environmental support; (2) Infant states of non-crying alertness, visual attentiveness, soothability, the manipulation of the environment, social responsiveness, variety of vocalization, goal directedness and attention, and (3) Parent-infant interaction qualities of affection, efficient responsiveness, physical closeness and stimulation toward cognitively enriching experiences. Other questions explored are: Is the child wanted and how does this relate to the prebirth marital adaptation? How in turn do both of these interact with the caretaker's potential conflict between career needs and caring for the infant? Can certain answers in relation to these questions in turn be related to instances of the dissolution of the marriage?